In the "Ask Linda" columns I answer questions from readers who are uncertain how to proceed correctly under the Rules of Golf. No names are used – all questioners are referred to as Lulu (or Lou, in the case of male writers), in honor of the smart and sassy comic character.
Please send questions from your personal golf experiences to: llmillergolf@gmail.com.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Ask Linda #410-Wrong ball

Linda, what happens if:

a) I play a wrong ball, or

b) the opposition plays the wrong ball, or

c) if I am playing as a team and one of us plays the wrong ball

Thanks,

Lulu

Dear Lulu,

In match play, if a player hits a wrong ball she loses the hole [Rule 15-3a].

In four-ball (also known as “better ball”) match play, if a player hits a wrong ball, she is disqualified from the hole. Her partner incurs no penalty, and will continue play of the hole. If the wrong ball belongs to another player (including the player’s partner), that player will place a ball on the spot where the wrong ball was hit and continue play [Rule 30-3c].

In stroke play, a competitor incurs a two-stroke penalty for hitting a wrong ball. She must correct her mistake by playing the correct ball. If the mistake is not corrected before she tees off on the next hole, she is disqualified. Any strokes made while playing the wrong ball do not count in the player’s score [Rule 15-3b]. If the player cannot find her ball, she will incur the two-stroke penalty for hitting a wrong ball, a one-stroke penalty for a lost ball, and will hit her next shot from where the original ball was last played.